I hereby declare the albums on this list, winners of the annual SHAZZY awards!! (they are named after Shami and Izzy, the only two people who have ever actually expressed any interest in actually READING these lists. Thanks to you both. And congratulations: you are now immortalized. The SHAZZYs!! What an honour!)
A couple quick points before I start the actual list:
- way more good albums in the first 6 months of the year then the last 6 months
- some people claim "rock is dead" and maybe my list is a sign of this. I have always said that rock music (alternative, indie, classic, etc) is my favourite genre of music but there is (for the second year in a row) a LOT of R&B / soul music on my list. Plus a little electronic music (no EDM!). Still some rock in there but not a ton. Interesting.
- Lots of good albums this year but very few GREAT ones. To tell the truth, it would have been much easier to list these twenty albums "in no particular order". They are all strong albums but there is not a single one that I would call an instant classic (unlike previous years). But I know people like countdowns so I'll stick with that format.
- Last year it took me HOURS to write this list up. Considering how many people actually read it, I'm cutting down on the comments.
- Let me know which albums I missed (Taylor Swift and Harry Styles, no doubt).
20. Miguel - War and Leisure
19. Jhené Aiko - Trip
18. Blanck Mass - World Eater
When most people think of electronic music they think of Tiesto or Diplo (or...ugh... The Chainsmokers). Hard to believe that this album falls into the same genre. Black Mass takes a little more patience to listen to than drop-heavy EDM but it's worth it. I'm predicting that this would be the LEAST favourite album on this list for most people but try it... you just might be impressed!
17. Julie Byrne - Not Even Happiness
16. Daniel Caesar - Freudian
Also: the woman (H.E.R.) in this song, would be #21 on my list of top albums (album also called H.E.R.). Must hurt to get THAT close to winning a SHAZZY and still miss! Imagine!
15. Curtis Harding - Face Your Fear
14. LCD Soundsystem - American Dream
Also: still hoping "LCD" stands for "lowest common denominator"
13. Khalid - American Teen
12. The War on Drugs - A Deeper Understanding
11. Arcade Fire - Everything Now
On a side note: ex-student Marija B gave me lots (LOTS!!) of grief for not being a fan of their last album. Hope this makes up for it MB!! <3